Mon, 30 Jun 2003

author Tim	location Cushendall, Antrim, Northern Ireland
posted 10:54 BST 01/07/2003	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Northern Ireland ( all photos )

Giant's Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede ( 47 photos )
Getting on the road on Monday, we spent most of the day driving around the very scenic North-East coast of Northern Ireland, taking in the towns of Portstewart, Portrush and Portballintraie, a quick stop to have a look in the gift shop at the Old Bushmills Distillery, before tackling the two big tourist attractions in this area.
First was the Giant's Causeway, famous world-wide, although I have to admit to not having heard of it. It consists of 38,000 (or so, we didn't count) strange pentagonal and hexagonal stones, all stacked in columns by the sea. We didn't expect much (that's the best way with these attractions), and after a quick look at the Bushmills to Giant's Causeway Narrow Guage Railway, we then parked down the road from the Causeway Visitor's centre (which we ignored) to avoid paying the hefty parking fee, we wandered across the top of the cliffs for a good view from above.
It wasn't until we got nice and close (after a walking down the cliffs admiring the huge "The Organ" built of similar stones nearby) that we truly appreciated just how strange this place is. There's a pretty complicated geological explanation, of course, but we just thought it was cool, and happily walked all over the place, glad that nobody has been silly enough to fall off and turn the place into a "view from a distance" tourist attraction like so many others.
Walking back to the top, and hence shunning the expensive mini-bus that so many others took (if you are disabled, then sure, but lazy is not good enough - it was a lovely day!), we decided that rather than take in the "twelve minute audio-visual Causeway experience" we were glad we had seen the real thing the way it is meant to be seen, and headed back to the van.
Onwards not far around the coast to the stunning scenery of the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. We had expected this to be a big, expensive attraction that you do just because everyone else does, but were pleasantly suprised to find a small, National Trust-run area where the bridge took second place by far to the stunning scenery. The clear blue waters far below, nesting birds all up the cliff faces and the ones diving for fish a hundered metres or so below, all while you walked along almost totally un-spoilt coast-line and tiny islands once you had made it across the bridge. The bridge itself was rather non-scary, only 20m or so above the sea below.
Back in the van, we drove around probably the most picturesque drive of the trip so far - the coast road between Ballyvoy and Cushendun. This two-tonne-or-less hilly, windy road ducked and turned all along the coast line, until we had to wait ten minutes or so for some cows to wander along the road! The farming family were all out in force making sure the cows made it along safely.
From Cushendun, we looked in the Glenariff Forest at the caravan park there but were quite un-impressed. We attempted to have a "Tim's Birthday Barbequeue" yesterday by purchasing some meat to this site as it was listed as having a BBQ, but upon arrival we found it almost totally devoid of life, nothing to do, in the middle of a forest and certainly no BBQ.
Back to Cushendun, we spent the night in the caravan park where we still sit. We didn't quite have a BBQ, but Liz did a great job of dinner last night (kind of like a BBQ, but inside), and some bacon and eggs for breakfast this morning.

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